Why Your Productivity Hacks Don't Work

Ever get to the end of a work day, only to realize you got nothing accomplished?

Nada. Zero. Zip.

And yet, you’re exhausted. You were running around “crazy busy” all day.

How is this even possible? This happens to a lot of people, a lot of the time. It’s an easy mistake to make.

We lose ourselves in a frenzy of activity comprised of multitasking, lack of focus, and time-wasting busyness. Then, we fall behind, get stressed, and run out of energy.

We work harder, instead of smarter. But, busyness is not the same as productivity. And pace is not the same as efficiency.

Listen – all the productivity hacks in the world can’t save you. Peak performance is mastered by being both efficient and effective at the same time.

The solution lies in the Law of Relaxed Productivity, which states...

...the more effective your process, the more productive you will be and the more efficient your process, the more relaxed you will be.

The key to being productive and relaxed at the same time is to be as effective and efficient as possible at the same time. Anyone can be either effective or efficient, but few can do both simultaneously.

The International Workplace Productivity Survey, commissioned by LexisNexis, found a majority of workers reported increases in the volume of information they have to deal with at work, and 62% of them admitted that as a result, it negatively impacts the quality of their work.

Americans alone report spending ? their day receiving and managing information. As a result, they’re spending more time at work. Working harder… and longer. Even if they’re meeting their outcomes, they’re increasingly inefficient.

Being ineffective comes from compromised focus and competing stimuli. So does being inefficient.

Longer working days result in less sleep and compromised focus.

The whole thing is a set-up to work against you and if you’re not actively strategizing against it, you’ll get assimilated into low productivity and “worker bee” mentality.

And, you’d be part of the majority.

Additionally, according to the New York Times article citing studies on productivity, working more contributed to lack of sleep in 400 employees (less than 6 hours a night) and was the number 1 predictor of job burn-out.

Additionally more than ? of workers forego lunch breaks and 59% work on their vacations.

Continuing to work when you should be resting, and then stimulating with coffee, sugar, or sheer willpower, overrides your body’s natural rhythms.

With adequate sleep, however, overall physical and cognitive performance increased across the board.

Because your body needs renewal. In the body and the mind.

Working longer and without breaks (or naps or vacations) will leave you overtired and stressed, but also less able to reach optimal focus.

Over 60 years of research has confirmed that people perform optimally (both effectively and efficiently) when they take breaks every 90 minutes. This is based on the BRAC (Basic-Rest Activity Cycle).

Discussed in an article by PayScale, researchers out of Florida State University studied “elite performers,” finding that uninterrupted focus for 90 minutes or less, with breaks in between, contributed to maximum productivity.

Harnessing efficiency, these people rarely worked more than 4.5 hours a day. Twice as much high-level work in half the time.

The Law of Relaxed Productivity is a framework for you to master these 2 things…

1. Focus on effectiveness.

If you think your long to-do list means you’re productive, no matter how much you cross off, you’re just wrong.

If you think doing endurance work, boasting no breaks and 15-hour long days, means you’re a workhorse of mass proportion… you’re still wrong.

The reality is that long lists and long hours only make you look productive. And, they might even impress your boss, but they won’t bring you to your goals. It’s the difference between being tactical versus strategic.

Being strategic means you look at the big picture and your endgame – your biggest goals and your overall purpose. Then, you reverse engineer to create a plan of outcomes, benchmarks, and daily actions that will take you there and you never lose focus on what you’re working towards.

On a micro-level, you’re starting your work day with a short list of maybe 3 things you need to accomplish that day. You eat the frog, which means you do the hardest task, or the one you least want to do, first. Then, the rest of your work day is built on that success.

Work from a plan. Prepare your year, your month, your week, and each day so that you’re aligned with your purpose. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you’re spinning your wheels and never really getting traction on your bigger goals – barely getting through mountains of paperwork, information overload, and aimless task completion.

Learn to focus your best efforts on your most important tasks, increase your follow-through, and delegate less important tasks.

When you start focusing on results, rather than the clock, and start getting strategic with your time and your tasks, you’ll have mastered how to be truly effective in the workplace.

You’ll also start to feel more relaxed because you’ll feel the momentum of your work day start to increase while you feel more in control of your day and your direction.

2. Maximize efficiency.

Efficiency is all about focus, self-preservation, and self-control.

If you’re tired or stressed, you won’t be able to focus at work. If you’re around toxic or manipulative people at work, you won’t be able to focus.

If you’re not taking care of yourself and taking enough breaks, you will never be efficient at work.

And, if you can’t control your emotions, you’ll never be relaxed.

Even if you start with the basics and get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and practice meditation and mindfulness.

Follow the BRAC principle and work with hard focus for 90 minutes and take frequent breaks. Take your lunch break, and take vacations. And, use the breaks to reset.

You need to chill out. If you’re stressed out, tense, and anxious, you’ll struggle with mastering efficiency.

Beyond your garden variety coping skills, you have to start mastering your own mind.

Just taking breaks isn’t enough if you’re stressing about your work while you’re on them.

You have to identify where you’re your own worst enemy within your own mind and prioritize real stress management.

So relax. Get some perspective. Save your intensity for your work, not your reeling emotions.

Don’t take things personally. Get away from the office gossips and drama queens. Stop being reactive and dramatic. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh a little. Not everything is the end of the world, and thinking it is will sabotage your focus at work every day.

Learn how to master your emotions.

I don’t mean stop feeling. Being a robot isn’t the answer. But, being an emotional basketcase will send you to the back of the line every time. Sure, there are things outside of your control. People and events will disappoint you. Be self-reliant so you can stand on your own two feet when that happens.

Otherwise, you’ll end up an eternal victim of your own mind who is so fixated on your feelings that you’ll never be able to relax.

It’ll take you twice as long to complete tasks and the quality of your career will suffer. And then, you’ll feel more emotional. At which point, you should just give up.

Look, you know how to relax. You need the right schedule and a smart strategy to be effective. And, you need the right mindset to create a ripe environment for focus to be efficient.

This is how you’ll produce at your highest level in record time.

Being relaxed isn’t about doing less, it’s about being able to do more because you’re doing it the right way.

You’re optimizing your efforts on every level — mental, physical, and emotional.

This combination of being in ultimate control of your career and your schedule makes you unstoppable.

Being effective at work is about mastering your work day. Being efficient is about mastering your focus. To optimize both simultaneously, you need to take control over your schedule and your work environment. You can achieve the benefits of the Law of Relaxed Productivity, where you work at your best and accomplish more in record time. To produce at your full potential, you must be strategic with your time, align with your purpose, and fiercely protect your focus.

How do you stay productive and relaxed at work?

Tell me in a comment below.

I also write for Fast Company and Entrepreneur Magazine:

• The Skills You Need To Grow Your Business
• 10 People Who Will Destroy Your Business
• 5 Benefits Of Being A Misfit Entrepreneur

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